10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$198,406at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF
Iowa Western Community College
Council Bluffs, IA · 11 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 10 · Federal debt reported for 8
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff
−$198,406 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
59.5 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−83%Estimated return after 10 years
$49,011Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Living off campus: $8,416 housing and food allowance plus $5,353 in other expenses.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price−$139,890
$8,000Annual price−$171,890
$15,000Current college-wide context−$199,890
$16,000Annual price−$203,890
$24,000Annual price−$235,890
$32,000Annual price−$267,890
$40,000Annual price−$299,890
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Most students take at least some classes online.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Main award level
- Associate degrees
- Campus setting
- Suburban
- Admissions
- Open admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
DUAL-ENROLLMENT CONTEXT · 2024
2,919 high-school students took college courses.
IPEDS counts students enrolled in college credit while still in high school. A large dual-enrollment population can shape headline enrollment figures, especially at community colleges.
This is participation, not a college completion rate. It does not indicate how many students later enrolled after high school, earned a credential or entered the workforce.
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in Iowa run 12% below the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$14,629Average net price / year
$18,978Cost of attendance
$11,033Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$117/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$49,011Median earnings · year 5 after completion
40.0%Completion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
2,916Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Iowa Western Community College
What does Iowa Western Community College cost?
Iowa Western Community College reports an average annual net price of $14,629 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do Iowa Western Community College graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $49,011 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Iowa Western Community College graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $11,033. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Iowa Western Community College worth the same?
No. The current release contains 11 field-and-degree records for Iowa Western Community College; 10 report year-4 earnings and 8 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
10,297Students enrolled at any point
10,297Undergraduate students
Not availableGraduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
33% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
235 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
39% making progress in repayment after three yearsStudent family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$38,898Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$44,929Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$48,800Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income31%
Middle income53%
Higher income65%
Undergraduate student composition
White58%
Black13%
Hispanic12%
Asian2%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
INDEPENDENT CENSUS EARNINGS VIEW
How earnings develop by field
Privacy-protected Census employment records follow graduate cohorts one, five and ten years after completion. This source is kept separate from College Scorecard because its population and methodology differ.
Field and credentialYear 1Year 5Year 10
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.Associate degree · Broad federal field 51
$63,082Year 1
$70,069Year 5
$76,654Year 10
Computer Programming.Associate degree · Broad federal field 11
$45,480Year 1
$58,858Year 5
$71,605Year 10
Electrical/Electronics Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians.Associate degree · Broad federal field 47
$44,098Year 1
$58,150Year 5
$68,943Year 10
Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians.Associate degree · Broad federal field 15
$56,406Year 1
$65,986Year 5
$67,138Year 10
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences.Certificate, 1–2 years · Broad federal field 51
$36,311Year 1
$59,748Year 5
$65,634Year 10
Building/Construction Finishing, Management, and Inspection.Associate degree · Broad federal field 46
$31,905Year 1
$43,047Year 5
$61,332Year 10
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.Associate degree · Broad federal field 24
$32,050Year 1
$45,475Year 5
$55,508Year 10
Accounting and Related Services.Associate degree · Broad federal field 52
$37,821Year 1
$49,171Year 5
$49,035Year 10
Median annual earnings in 2023 dollars. Each time point may use a different pooled graduation cohort. Coverage is limited to institutions participating in the Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes program.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$39,698Year 1
$51,139Year 4
$49,011Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Associate's Degree$80,7262Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$72,7593Dental Support Services and Allied Professions · Associate's Degree$71,5024Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$62,4005Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians · Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$62,2406Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Associate's Degree$49,6407Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities · Associate's Degree$42,9878Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians · Associate's Degree$41,974Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing AssistantsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $72,759 reported+30%vs same-degree national median$18,000federal debt2Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $62,240 reported+21%vs same-degree national median$7,110federal debt3Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsAssociate's Degree · $71,502 reported+15%vs same-degree national median$26,481federal debt4Dental Support Services and Allied ProfessionsUndergraduate Certificate or Diploma · $37,532 reported+11%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree · $62,400 reported+7%vs same-degree national median$13,000federal debt6Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/TechniciansAssociate's Degree · $41,974 reported+1%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in IA
Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
Ankeny, IA
Des Moines Area Community College
- Annual net price
- $11,171
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $48,336
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -85%
University of Northern Iowa
- Annual net price
- $15,901
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $52,258
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -70%
Eastern Iowa Community College District
- Annual net price
- $14,017
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $44,928
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -100%
Indian Hills Community College
- Annual net price
- $10,693
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $47,826
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -87%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 11 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Associate's Degree | $80,726 | $27,938 | Not reported |
| Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $72,759 | $18,000 | 109 |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | Associate's Degree | $71,502 | $26,481 | Not reported |
| Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $62,400 | $13,000 | Not reported |
| Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Technologies/Technicians | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $62,240 | $7,110 | 90 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Associate's Degree | $49,640 | Not available | Not reported |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Associate's Degree | $42,987 | $11,193 | Not reported |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $41,974 | Not available | Not reported |
| Dental Support Services and Allied Professions | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $37,532 | Not available | 16 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians | Associate's Degree | $35,425 | $12,000 | Not reported |
| Precision Metal Working | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | Not available | $5,500 | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.